The Medal of Honor
For a Native American Hero
Master Sargeant Woodrow W. Keeble

The
Medal of Honor, first authorized by President Abraham Lincoln
in 1861, is the highest award for valor in action against an
enemy force, which can be bestowed upon an individual serving
in the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and
Coast Guard. To receive this rare honor, the President of the
United States must approve it after a long and rigorous consideration
process, and then the President presents it personally to the
recipient in the name of Congress. Since the birth of our nation
over 40 million Americans have faced combat, yet fewer than
3500 have received our nations highest honor for combat - the
Medal of Honor.

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society, comprised solely of
living Medal of Honor recipients, is recognized as the most
exclusive organization in the United States. There are currently
fewer than 100 living members.

A
Native American Hero's Biography

Master
Sergeant Woodrow W. Keeble

Master
Sergeant Woodrow W. Keeble posthumously received the Medal of
Honor during a White House ceremony on March 3, 2008. He is
the first full-blooded Sioux recipient

Date
of Birth: May 16, 1917, Waubay, South Dakota

U.S.
Army Service: WW II, Korean War

For
his actions in combat, Master Sergeant Keeble received the Distinguished
Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, four Purple
Hearts and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

An
athletic man in his youth, Master Sergeant Keeble was being
recruited by the Chicago White Sox when he was called to duty
in WW II. Upon returning to North Dakota after the war, Master
Sergeant Keeble taught at the Wahpeton Native American School,
which he himself had attended after his mother passed away when
he was a child. Master Sergeant Keeble was again called to service
during the Korean War, where he notably volunteered as an individual
augmenter from the 164th Infantry Regiment to deploy to Korea.

Master Sergeant Keeble

During
the Korean War

When
Master Sergeant Keeble returned from the Korean War, he resumed
teaching at the Wahpeton School. Unfortunately, soon after his
return he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which required the
removal of one of his lungs. The surgery triggered a series
of strokes leaving him speechless and partially paralyzed. Several
months later4 his wife of 14 years, Nettie, passed away, leaving
him to care for their young son, Earl. In 1967, Master Sergeant
Keeble married Blossom Iris Crawford-Hawkins, the first Sioux
woman to complete a Ph.D. program, including doctoral dissertation
at the University of South Dakota. In 1982, Master Sergeant
Keeble passed away. His valor on the battlefield was legendary.
Friends, family and four U.S. Senators in North and South Dakota
continued their pursuit for the Medal of Honor even after his
death.

Master
Sergeant Keeble On The Battlefield

His
strength, size and prowess as a warrior led fellow soldier James
Fenelon, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, who fought
with Master Sergeant Keeble at Guadalcanal, to say, "The
safest place to be was right next to Woody."

Master
Sergeant Keeble's bravery in combat, leading soldiers, is beyond
question. Of his call to duty, Master Sergeant Keeble said,
"There were terrible moments that encompassed a lifetime,
an endlessness, when terror was so strong in me, that I could
feel idiocy replace reason. (Yet,) I have never left my position,
nor have I shirked hazardous duty. Fear did not make a coward
out of me."

Master
Sergeant Keeble volunteered for duty when members of the 164th
Infantry Regiment were called to fight in the Korean War. When
asked why, he replied, "Somebody has to teach these kids
how to fight." Master Sergeant Wedrow W. Keeble's Medal of Honor details,
next.

Black Elk, Lakota Medicine Man
"Peace comes within the Souls of Men
when they realize their Oneness with the Universe.
When they realize it is really everywhere.
It is within each of us."